Sync
by fishiee
Summary: Charlotte Stark's great grandfather, Tony Stark, went MIA on a mission 90 years ago. An agent for Shield now, and the working partner/room mate/friend of Steve Rogers, Charlie is privy to certain information. And the information she isn't privy to... she finds out anyways. On a self-sent mission to Sync HQ, what she finds changes what everyone knew about the death of Tony Stark.
1. prologue

PROLOGUE

Tony Stark couldn't move. Not one inch of his body, not even his lips or tongue to let the screams pounding the inside of his mind out. He was terrified. A feeling of iciness was creeping up his body and the room he was in was so bright it burned his eyes. His eyes fell shut and, and try as he may, he was unable to open them again. Something was running through his veins, a frozen drug paralyzing his body.

He tried to think back, trying to break through his ever-freezing mind, and caught a glimpse of a fire. A British voice penetrated his head:

_Sir, if you do not leave now, you will die._

Jarvis. Who else was there... who wasn't there? There was one person he was forgetting, one very important person.

Red hair, blue eyes.

Pepper.

Had Pepper been there? Is she okay? Tony tried to use the warmth associated with her to thaw out his brain. Ice was threatening his vision and he tried to hold onto her face, tried to conjure up the last thing she said to him.

_Are you sure you'll be okay, Tony?_

_I'll just be a couple of days._

_You know, one of these days, I'd like you to meet my family._

_Whatever, Tony. See you later._

The relief that washed over his body was momentarily stronger than his frozen body. She was okay. Pepper was okay.

But then the cold overtook him and in the complete whiteness that followed he

knew

no

more.


	2. chapter one

_well hello you beautiful people! you're probably like, "what the absolute heck, Anna, ANOTHER fanfiction!?" and yeah. sorry not sorry. :p I've been working a lot, so I hadn't posted the first chapter immediately like I had wanted to, but now I'm leaving for China for a couple of weeks, and I thought I really needed to get this together. let me know! :)_

**CHAPTER ONE**

Charlotte sat in the floor, her back leaning against her desk. She spent most her days at Shield Headquarters and this afternoon was no difference. One hand held her laptop and the other held chopsticks, pinching a clump of lo mein noodles. Her eyes blurred at the words before her, from the countless pages she'd been going over. Ever since she heard Sync was involved in her great grandfather's disapperance, she'd been obsessed.

Sync. The newest "I want to take over the world" group who has Iron Man from like 90 years ago as a poster boy. Their tagline: to finish his work. Charlie was pretty sure Tony Stark's work was to never put skin over a robot and call the world perfect, but that's just her. Or well, that's everyone except the people who agreed to try to be perfected and became cyborgs and robots in the process or had family/friends cured through this... which actually could be a lot. She didn't know. But she did know there should atleast be a choice in this. Unless they did actually have something to do with her great grandfather's death, and in that case, they were just going down.

This whole thing just sounded like someone watching too much Doctor Who to Charlie, but this is the threat at large right now. Because Sync has decided it shouldn't just be voluntary. Everyone wants to be perfected, but they just don't know it yet, and apparently Tony's next step before he went MIA was to become one with Iron Man. To "sync" with Iron Man. Charlie was also pretty sure he'd be appalled.

Her tired mind was yet again distracted with these thoughts. She slurped down some noodles to regain focus as a group of agents rushed by her office.

Charlie heard the words: "Sync has Tony Stark" and decided she should be there.

She waited till they loaded the elevator that was located near her desk and quickly snagged the next one. She figured they'd be up a couple levels in the debriefing room... and she was right. This wasn't Charlie's first rodeo. She knew she wouldn't find herself actually in the room, but she also knew if she hid around the corner, she could get a crapton of information by listening in to their conversations coming out of the meeting.

* * *

><p>Steve Rogers had been contacted to meet with Gem Fury, the director of Shield, immediately. As everyone knew he didn't do anything without his partner, Charlie Stark, the great-great-great granddaughter of the first Stark he met, he swung by her office to find a carton of Chinese noodles fallen over on the floor and no Charlie. She never treated her noodles this way. Steve sighed, knowing she was yet again sticking her nose where it probably didn't belong, and had a guess where she could be.<p>

He found her tucked away behind a fake plant tree in the corner of the hallway. Her small frame allowed her to pull her knees to her chin, unnoticeable to people passing by. But Steve knew this to be her spot, knew Charlie would be here, so he pulled back a few leaves, and she looked up at him. Her pale face and wide eyes told him she knew something, probably knew what they were called to Gem for.

She reached out a hand and Steve pulled her up. She came from behind the pot.

"So what is Gem going to talk to us about?" Steve asked, as Charlie fell in step next to him.

"They got new intel on the disappearance of Tony Stark..." She started, and pursed her lips.

"And?" He prompted, his heart pounding slightly. He glanced at her as they turned a corner.

"They have him. Sync. They still have him," Charlie answered, her nose scrunched up in disgust.

Steve paused, processing. "They still-"

"They kept him, like preserved in a glass or something. I don't know, but his body's there," Charlie finished, pushing the elevator button up.

"That's sick," He replied, trying to fathom why they'd kept his body all pretty all these years.

"You're telling me," She said, pressing a hand to her forehead, before sliding it through her mess of curly hair.

"He was... he was my friend and they just kept him like that? So many people needed closure. Thor, Natasha, Bruce, Clint, Pepper... he never even met his son, Mason. Oh God, and all this time they still had him. How long had he been..." Steve couldn't finish the thought, shaking his head. He looked down at Charlie, "Sorry. I know it freaks you out to hear this."

But she shook her head, "No, you have every right to talk to about it." However, it did freak her out a tad bit. Charlie was mainly overwhelmed with horror at this moment.

The elevator dinged and the women they were heading to meet walked in. Her dark chocolate skin and the way she walked reminded Steve of the Fury he knew- Nick Fury. However that was about it. Gem Fury was coldhearted and bitter in a way Nick never was.

"Gem," Steve nodded in greeting. Charlie looked at her feet.

"Steve... Charlie," the director replied. There was silence.

"So. There was something you wanted to tell us..." Steve said, turning to her.

Gem gave a hard smile. "I do believe you might already know. Unless hiding behind plants is a weird fetish of yours, Stark."

"Dang it," Charlie muttered, but with a slight smile.

"Yeah. Busted." Her lips fell into a hard line and she eyed the red head till she looked up. "Stark, you know no respect."

Charlie's eyebrows flew up, surprised in this turn of events. "Excuse me?"

"You know no respect, and no regard to privacy," the Director started, her voice cold.

"I believe you're just mad I got past your security by hiding behind a freaking plant," Charlie replied, in a calm voice that Steve knew from her great-grandfather, and her, meant that she was pissed.

"Gem-" Steve said, trying to diffuse the situation like others before this, but she cut him off.

"Director Fury to you, Rogers. I am not the man you knew," She snapped, her eyes flashing.

"You're right. Nick was a good man and you are just-" He began, angrily.

"Things need to change around here. Lines need to be drawn, and kept. Respect needs to be learned and shown," Fury ignored him, and Steve took a breath through his nose. She continued on, "Just because you are _'Captain America' _and the ground you walked on was worshipped 100 years ago, does not mean you are in charge. This has been handed down from Fury to Fury, and they have been soft and weak."

Steve let out a short laugh. "I think someone is in need of a reality check, _Director_. Don't let your name get to you. Nick earned that name. Christopher earned that name. Joe earned that name. You have not." His voice turned low, a warning.

Gem's eyes narrowed, and she hissed, repeating, "I am not the men you knew. I am not my father. I am better. People need to realize I'm in charge here, not you, because you have been here longer. You are popular here, Rogers, so I will not take you off this case, but you're dangerously close. Stark, however... you're actions require discipline. You are unassigned from the Sync case, you are not to get involved with this one. Have I made myself clear?" Her eyes bore into Charlie. Steve could almost see the smoke coming from her ears. Her hands shook slightly.

"Oh, crystal, Director Fury," Charlie answered, flashing (or more like baring, Steve thought) her teeth, her eyes giving Gem a murderous glare.

Before getting off the elevator, Gem murmered in Charlie's ear, "Reiterating: you're not untouchable because you're related to Tony Stark, and nor is Steve Rogers for being apart of the Avengers. You both disobey me, you both go down. Don't take this away from Rogers." And then in a louder voice, "Twenty minutes in the conference room, Captain." She then left them without another word.

The two of them stood there for a moment. The door shut and they still hadn't said a word. Finally, Steve pushed the Lobby button and they started to go down.

"Let me get more information, and we'll go from there, Char," Steve said, and then bumped her shoulder, "We're a package deal, you and I, no matter what Fury says."

Charlie forced a smile to her face, "Sounds good. Sorry for getting you in trouble."

He grinned. "Oh please. I'm just sad not everyone is worshipping the ground I walk on anymore."

A genuine smile appeared on her face. "Hate to break it to you, but you're so 2016."

Steve laughed. He touched her shoulder and asked, "See you back at the apartment?"

"Of course," She answered, and Steve got off a couple levels before her. Charlie used the minutes remaining to plan. Because obviously she wasn't not going to be involved with this. It was her freaking grandfather for crying out loud. It was personal, though she would have done this either way to spite Gem. However she had been right. Charlie wouldn't get Steve involved.

But she was going. She knew the location of Sync HQ and she was going to Tony Stark's body back because no one else had plans to.

Charlie sighed to herself, she was a little sad her secret spot had been discovered. She learned a lot of things that way.

* * *

><p>Charlie sat curled on the couch of the three bedroom, two bath apartment they shared in downtown New York. Tell him 60 years ago that Steve would be rooming with a girl, he'd spout out something about how inappropriate that was. Now... things have changed.<p>

It relieved Steve to see her there; even to him, sometimes she was unpredictable.

She looked up at him and said, "Debrief me." But he had no information that she didn't already have. Worry ate away at him with the way Charlie just nodded absentmindedly and muttered, "Figured."

There was a silence before Steve asked, "So when are we leaving?"

"For what?" Charlie replied, finally piking her interest.

"To get Tony. They have no plans and I know you. You're going, and I'm with you always," He answered.

A smile played on her lips. "You know me too well."

He said nothing, waiting for an answer. He needed an answer from her.

"Tomorrow night? We'll have time to prepare and make a plan," She suggested.

Steve shrugged, "Sounds good. It's your mission."

"All right, let's sleep on it, and reconvene tomorrow morning," Charlie said, turning her exhausted eyes to his.

"Okay. Charlie? We'll get him. Don't worry," Steve reassured her.

Her grin matched her eyes. "Oh I know. We got this."

But Charlie had lied. There would be no sleeping on it, or planning. When she was sure Steve was in his room, she packed up and left. She drove silently the hour out of town and parked at the last gas station before arriving at the building, located deep in the woods. The musky, wet air met her as she walked the side of the road, putting her thumb up when a car passed.

Somebody picked her up. And dropped her in seemingly the middle of nowhere, but she knew there was a lake in this forest and behind that lake was where she was going.

Her feet padded softly against the damp earth. She kept an eye out for sticks and leaves. Charlie knew immediately she was being followed when suddenly a deer flew by her and even when he disappeared into the woods, she still heard the crackling of leaves behind her.

Charlie flung herself around, and stopped, prepared. There was a sigh as the noise got drasically louder.

"You forget I know you too well," Steve announced in the darkness. She cursed herself, but she wasn't as surprised as she should have been.

"You forget how to walk quietly," She replied back.

"Being attacked by a deer wasn't in the plan," He answered her, right beside her now.

They fell into step. "I didn't want you to go down with me," Charlie finally said.

"Don't worry about me, Charlie. Shield isn't what it once was... We're a team, and you're my partner. We're in it together," Steve told her, their shoulders brushing as they walked.

Charlie was relieved by this omission. She didn't want to do this alone- well, she didn't want to do it without him. This was something they shared, Tony Stark. His last decendant and the last man to know him. It should just be the two of them.

She opened her mouth to say more, but was cut off by a popping sound. A gunshut.

"Showtime," Steve grinned down at her.

Steve was unstoppable, and Charlie was unafraid. They were in the door in no time. Down the hall, up the elevator, and finally in the last hallway before their lives changed forever. Charlie squeezed the information out of a Sync guard before smashing his head in.

Kicking down the door, their roles fell in place. Steve took control of defending, Charlie assumed the role of retracting. She spotted him immediately. Tony Stark. In the flesh. She managed to rip out some cords before getting sidetracked by some of Steve's stranglers. Charlie held them off till he came for them, and turned around to finish her work.

As she pulled Tony off the bed, she was met with a surprise so unexpected it startled a scream out of her as she fell, hard, on her butt.

"Get the hell off me!" A voice slurred as she was being shoved.

Charlie stared up at him, blankly, uncomprehending. He was dead. He was suppose to be dead.

"Oh my God," She breathed.

"Charlie!" Steve yelled, rushing over, his heart out of his chest.

"Oh my God," She repeated louder, and he followed her eyes up. Staggering to strike Charlie again was his old friend. Was Tony.

"Wait!" Steve cried, and caught his attention.

"Steve," he breathed out in relief, "What took you so damn long?"

Oh wasn't that the questioned.

Steve tried to answer, but only stuttered.

* * *

><p>He was alive. Tony Stark was alive.<p> 


End file.
